Milford sends clear message: No casino

MILFORD — The voters spoke Tuesday, and it was clear they didn't want a $1 billion Foxwoods resort casino in Milford.

The proposal was defeated by a nearly 2-to-1 margin with 3,480 votes in favor and 6,361 opposed, according to the town clerk's office.

Turnout at the polls was heavy, with 9,846, or 57 percent of Milford's 17,400 registered voters casting ballots.

The project, led by Colorado developer David Nunes of Crossroads Massachusetts and operating partner Foxwoods Massachusetts, would have resulted in a 980,000-square-foot facility with 6,700 gaming positions, 500 hotel rooms, restaurants, stores, spa and banquet facilities.

Crossroads announced a majority equity partner, Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc., a spinoff of Penn National Gaming, on Friday after state gaming regulators questioned the applicant's financing ability at a suitability hearing last Wednesday.

In the host community agreement, Foxwoods had agreed to pay Milford more than $32 million up front and $35 million annually in property taxes and impact payments.

Opponents voiced concern about traffic, water resources, public safety and the involvement of Foxwoods, which along with its owner, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council, has had trouble in Connecticut.

At a victory celebration at PiNZ Entertainment, Steven Trettel, co-chairman of the grass-roots opposition group Casino-Free Milford, said, "The people of Milford have really spoken loud and clear here."

He said the outcome marked the ninth community in the state to reject the idea of casinos and what they can do to communities.

Casino-Free Milford co-chairman John Seaver said the win was "stunning."

But he said the casino opponents, many with roots extending generations in town, had a sense the proposal would be shot down. "He (Mr. Trettel) knows all the Italians. I know all the Irish. And (former School Committee member) Jose Costa knows all the Portuguese."

Kim Smith, a casino opponent, said: "When they put the first numbers up, I just started crying. Just joy. We slammed the door shut. Every single precinct (rejected the casino)."

Across town at the Crystal Room banquet hall, where Foxwoods supporters gathered, the mood was subdued even before the vote was tallied.

While he was still hopeful at the time, Allan Kronberg, general manager of Foxwoods Massachusetts said that Foxwoods President and CEO Scott Butera had done a "magnificent job" pulling together the proposal in a short amount of time.

"He's a builder — he builds companies, he builds hope," Mr. Kronberg said. "I'm so honored to have been invited to be a part of it."

Mr. Butera said in a written statement after the results were in: "We respect the choice Milford voters made today. Throughout this process we've gotten to know Milford and thousands of its residents. While we worked hard to offer a resort casino we believe would benefit the area, the town made a decision similar to many other communities across the state. Though the outcome isn't what we hoped for, we have a high regard for the residents of Milford and will part ways having learned from the experience. We invite everyone to come visit Foxwoods in Connecticut."

The defeat of the Milford proposal leaves a Wynn Resorts proposal for Everett as likely the only applicant for the Eastern Massachusetts resort casino license.

Suffolk Downs may try to reconfigure its application for a casino only in Revere, after East Boston voters turned it down two weeks ago. The original proposal straddled the East Boston-Revere line.

In Milford, voters all day long echoed the issue's themes of traffic, water resources and concerns about Foxwoods' management, in opposition to the casino, versus jobs, revenue and an attractive destination in its favor.

"I personally don't want it because it's going to change the character of Milford," said lifelong resident Bernie Hickey, who was leaving the polls at the Portuguese Club on the west side of town. "It's going to change everything. I don't even want to talk about the traffic."

Michael Soares, who was leaving the polls with his wife, Shannon, and 15-month-old son, Timothy, said, "My big thing is traffic. I like living in a small town. I don't need 20,000 visitors a day to jam it all up."

"I think it would add too much traffic and I don't trust Foxwoods," said voter David Bruce.

Nancy Wojick, a Milford resident who was holding a Casino-Free Milford sign near the Portuguese Club, was worried about water and traffic impacts. "It's just in the wrong place. And I love my town," she said.

But resident and town meeting member Warren Heller, who stood across the street from Ms. Wojick with a "Vote Yes" sign, said, "This is very good for the town of Milford, with 3,500 jobs and $25 million in new taxes — $35 million total. It's going to be a gem for the town of Milford."

Mr. Heller had been out all afternoon, urging voters to support the casino. He said, "The opposition has been organized since March. We've had to combat a lot of misinformation."

Several members of the carpenters and laborers unions also held Foxwoods signs.

At the Senior Center on North Bow Street, Fred Elliott said he voted no because "in five to 10 years they will be filing bankruptcy."

Jean Devine, who has lived in Milford for 10 years, said, "I'm a Christian and I don't really approve of gambling and drinking. There would be too much of it."

"I just think it's going to bring in a lot more traffic and people in who don't have ties to the community," voter Alison Tosches said.

Brian and Jennifer Leeman were in favor of the casino, citing the money for the town and the infrastructure improvements that developers had agreed to.

And they were looking for more exciting things to do in town.

"We're not necessarily gamblers, but there would be plenty else to do," Ms. Leeman said, although she admitted she was "a little concerned about traffic."

On busy Route 16 near the Italian-American Veterans Hall, the polling location closest to the casino site, resident Richie Hudson strummed his guitar, stomped on a tambourine and sang out his support for the casino in a song he wrote called "$34 Million a Year."

The song touted the project's benefits: being able to build a new school, having entertainment nearby, getting a new highway connector.

"I need to educate people in a fun way. Bob Dylan did it," Mr. Hudson said. "Something else is going to be built there and then we won't get what they're offering."

Millbury Selectman Brian Ashmankas, campaign chairman for the Committee to Repeal the Casino Deal, stood outside the Italian-American hall, collecting signatures for a 2014 state ballot question to repeal the 2011 law legalizing casino gambling.

The group needs at least 69,000 signatures by the end of Wednesday.

Mr. Ashmankas said supporters already collected "in the high 80,000s," more than the minimum, but the signatures need to be verified and some would likely be dropped.

State Attorney General Martha Coakley rejected the initiative question in September, saying it would result in an unlawful taking of property. Proponents filed an injunction and the Supreme Judicial Court must still approve it before it can be placed on the ballot.

Contact Susan Spencer at susan.spencer@telegram.com Follow her on Twitter @SusanSpencerTG